


Five ways Jim tried to get Bones to be his Valentine, and the one time it worked.

by liionne



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: 5 Times, Academy Era, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-09
Updated: 2014-02-09
Packaged: 2018-01-10 18:13:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1162921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liionne/pseuds/liionne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the rate he was going, he was never going to get his Valentine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five ways Jim tried to get Bones to be his Valentine, and the one time it worked.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentines Day! This is a little early, but it might just mean more drabbles closer to the time. Maybe.
> 
> Oh and it's not beta'd, so apologies.

**5\. Baked Goods**

It was quickly approaching Valentines Day, and Jim had a very clear idea of who he wanted to be his valentine. He'd never done Valentines before, not since he was in Kindergarten (he was more of a _pick 'em up at a house party and not speak to 'em again_ kinda kid in high school), but he was going to try really hard this year.

That was easier said than done. The Valentine he had in mind had sworn off love after a bad divorce, and was now oblivious to the many nurses and doctors and cadets throwing themselves at his feet.

Bones. He wanted Bones to be his Valentines.

It was a week before the big day that he began his conquest. He woke up early, and got dressed, only tugging on his red cadet trousers and the white tank top he tended to wear underneath. He didn't want to get his jacket mucky, after all.

Jim was a good cook. He could get a steak just right, however his company liked it; his cakes rose to amazing heights, and were always so light and so fluffy; and his pastries-

Well, Bones was going to get just how good his pastries were.

Jim slaved away for hours, waking up when it was still dark out to make Bones his breakfast. Danish pastries, cinnamon swirls, he went all out to make a selection for him. His plan was to make him up a little tray: pastries, his coffee, a glass of juice, maybe even a rose in a vase, if Jim could find a vase small enough. It'd be perfect.

Or it would be perfect if Bones wasn't such a grump in the morning.

Jim had set up his tray, and was just about to take it into him when he came out of the bedroom, a bundle of fluffy dark hair and bright red uniform. He jabbed himself in the neck with what Jim assumed was a caffeine shot, and slipped his feet into his shoes.

"Got a 911 from the hospital, I'll meet y' for lunch." He said gruffly on his way out of the door.

He was gone before Jim could protest.

With a huff, Jim sat down at the kitchen table, and stuffed a pastry into his mouth.

**4\. Flowers**

After his failed attempt at breakfast,Jim decided to keep it simple. Bones was a simple man of simple tastes, after all.

He was going to appreciate the massive bunch of red and white roses, Jim just knew it.

Now with just six days till Valentines day, the heat was on. Jim should have had his date by now, but Bones as impossible to pin down. His pager was constantly beeping, signalling a trauma for him to assist on, or he was always in classes, or he was sleeping (he slept a lot during the day, if he could- he called it a "medical intern's habit"), meaning Jim hadn't been able to talk to him for the past two days.

It was 4 o'clock when he schedule Bones' flowers to be delivered, right when he was getting into a lecture. Bones never missed a lecture, always showed up even when all of the stuff was on the system, or it was just a review of the last practical class they'd had or something. He was consistent.

Jim leaned against the door to the lecture hall, looking around for Bones. He usually sat in the same place every time, but-

He wasn't there.

_He wasn't there_.

"That bastard." Jim muttered under his breath, snatching the flowers from the poor delivery boy.

He gave them to Uhura in the end. Her flustered, bewildered look made him feel a bit better.

**3\. Chocolates**

Chocolates. You couldn't go wrong with chocolates. Everyone loved chocolate.

Even Leonard McCoy, with a heart of _stone_ , loved chocolate.

Jim present him with them on Friday; Valentines day was on Monday. Things were getting a little too close for his liking.

"Bones!" He grinned, collaring his friend just as he stepped inside the door after work.

Bones looked at him wearily, but he didn't push him away. That was a good sign.

"I got you some chocolates." Jim grinned. "Go on, have on- you look like you need it."

Jim lifted the lid, and the smell of chocolate wafted up to greet him. Bones seemed to straighten a little, having previously slumped into the room, and he took a chocolate from the box.

"They're a special limited edition thing," Jim explained, as Bones began to chew. His brow furrowed a little at the taste, which was why Jim felt the need to explain. "They've got different flavours, and centers and stuff-"

"Jim," He asked, hand at his throat. "What was that one?"

"The one you just had?" Jim asked.

Bones nodded. He didn't look all too good.

"Uh-" Jim was a little worried now. "Pear cream."

"Pear cream." Bones said flatly. "Pear."

Jim paused. Uh oh. That wasn't good. Why was Bones looking so red? Why did he look so _angry_. "Pear." he agreed.

" _Shit_ Jim-" He muttered, throwing Jim's jacket at him. "Y' managed to find the one thing in the whole damn universe that 'm violently allergic to! I've got about seven god damn seconds before my throat closes up, so you're gonna have to drag me to medical."

With the chocolates forgotten, Jim carted Bones off to med bay.

At the rate he was going, he was never going to get his Valentine.

**2\. Love Letters**

Jim wasn't very good at putting his feelings into words. He had never been good at straightening out his feelings and labelling them all. He had never had to do that before. He had never had a person who made him feel so many separate emotions that he needed to compartmentalise them. But Bones- Bones made him feel happy and excited and nervous all at the same time, and Jim had no idea how to write all of that down.

But he was trying. He was trying, because he was pretty sure he loved Bones. Like, a lot. He just had to put that into words.

He was sure Bones would appreciate a letter, too. He knew it would speak to his old-school Georgian heart, because he was into shit like that. He had probably wrote countless letters to lovers past, spilling details of their eternal love and how his heart skipped a beat whenever he saw them.

Jim poured himself into that later, telling Bones everything he'd ever thought about him since the day he'd met him. How at first he thought he was a nutjob, still drunk and scared of space yet enlisting to Starfleet all the same. And then he'd hacked the system to room with him, because he couldn't stand being in with some stranger when he was just as fucked up as Jim was. And how then, in that cramped little room, he grew to love Leonard so much that it hurt. It physically hurt.

He sealed the letter, and left it on the counter by the door with the rest of the actual paper mail (which, really, they didn't get a lot of). It'd be better that way; more casual.

When Jim returned from his classes, Bones was on the couch. There was no mail left on the counter, but Bones didn't look up at him as he came in.

"Hey Bones, did you get the mail?"

"Uh, yeah." He answered, not looking up from his PADD. "Was just junk stuff. I threw it in the trash."

"You- what? You didn't read it?" Jim asked, his face crumpling.

"It was trash, Jim, we never read the real-paper mail." He still didn't look up at Jim, reading whatever he was reading as if nothing was wrong.

"Oh." Jim murmured, heading for his bed so he could cry, or tear his hair out, or both. "Okay."

And he left it at that, because he was way too tired to try anything else.

**1\. Grand Gestures**

It was the day before Valentines day when Jim made his last ditch attempt. He planned a trail around campus, a trail of red ribbon with little notes giving Jim clues of where to go. He set it all up himself, waiting for Bones at the end of it, the end that just so happened to be their favourite spot under the secluded oak tree behind campus.

He knew Bones got out of class at two, and it would only take two minutes for him to complete the trail. He expected bones at five minutes past two.

But then it got to ten past.

And then twenty past.

And then it got to three o'clock.

Bones was, obviously, not coming.

Jim learned, on his way back, that someone had trodden on the trail at the start. The red ribbon had been crushed, and Bones had never found it where he should have. He was never going to get to Jim.

He was done trying. He was done trying to make Bones his valentine.

Maybe things would work out better next year.

**+1 Without even trying**

Campus was filled with lovey-dovey couples, holding hands and exchanging gifts and kissing, kissing all over the place. Jim wanted to punch each and every one of them in the gut.

He walked by Bones' shoulder, being sure to leave a considerable distance between their arms. Didn't want to give off the wrong impression, right?

They had to weave through PDAs, dodging tongues and hands and over-the-top bouquets. Bones wrinkled his nose when they got close to their spot, and said, "I hate Valentines day. All the kissing and the _touching_. It's just a day designed to make the single people feel alone-"

"So don't be alone! Be with me! Be my Valentine!" Jim thought, exasperated.

Bones stopped dead.

Jim realised that he hadn't just thought that.

He'd said out loud.

Well, he'd _yelled_ it out loud.

"Alright." Bones nodded.

Jim paused, and blinked. "Come again?"

"Alright." Bones said. "I'll be your Valentine."

"Are you-" Jim blinked. "Are you serious?"

He had spent a whole week trying to get Bones to be his Valentine, and it had been that easy? _That_ easy? All he had to do was _ask_?

"Bones, I swear-" Jim pounced on him, throwing his arms around Bones' neck. He kissed him hard, taking out a week's frustration on him in one single,passionate, crushing kiss. "This is gonna be the best Valentines day _ever_."


End file.
